


I Wouldn't Leave You

by chucknovak



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst to Fluff, M/M, Mostly fluff lol, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, the sweetest bois
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 02:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15877050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chucknovak/pseuds/chucknovak
Summary: for this ask I got on tumblr (@bi-beverie hmu lmao): "Richie finally asked Eddie out on a date and he’s over the frickin moon that Eddie said yes. When he goes to pick Eddie up, eddie isn’t home. Richie waits and waits, but Eddie doesn’t show up. And Richie thinks Eddie stood him up cuz the date was a joke to him. Richie is heartbroken. Meanwhile, Eddie had been in town to get something special for Richie because he’s heart eyes over that lovable disaster. But he has a run in with Bowers and has to hide so long. I need this, I beg you"





	I Wouldn't Leave You

**Author's Note:**

> hi im not dead just busy w school lmao

Richie was practically bouncing as he walked up the empty driveway, Sonia Kaspbrak being out with her book club for the evening. He surreptitiously sniffed under both of his arms, making sure his nerves weren’t manifesting themselves in the form of excessive sweat. Instead he smelled like excessive Old Spice deodorant, which he was personally satisfied with. He twirled the small bouquet of flowers he’d bought between his fingers as he climbed the steps of the Kaspbraks’ front porch, heart pounding against his chest.

He could hardly believe he was really here. After four or five years of pining and flirting that he covered up with jokes, Richie had finally found the courage to ask Eddie out on a date – and, miraculously, Eddie had said yes. Richie hadn’t been able to keep the smile off his face for the past two days. He had the whole afternoon, evening, and night planned: first Richie would drive them to the county park, where they could go for a walk and ride the carousel and look and birds and trees and other romantic stuff like that; then they would go get dinner at Eddie’s favorite restaurant a few towns away; then they would end the night at the roller rink, where Richie would make a fool of himself – more than worth it though, to see Eddie’s face lit up with laughter. Maybe they would share a milkshake or something afterwards. Maybe they would even kiss.

The thought made Richie’s hand shake as he reached out to ring the doorbell. He listened closely for the telltale sound of Eddie’s quick footsteps, but he heard nothing. He gave it about thirty seconds before ringing the bell again, three times in a row in quick succession, a smirk on his face as he pictured Eddie’s adorable little huff of annoyance as he answered the door. _I was putting my shoes on, asshole!_ he imagined Eddie saying. _God, you’re so impatient_. But he would smile up at Richie, maybe even take his hand, and Richie would easily reply, _Best day of my life here, Eds. Pardon me for being excited_.

But none of that happened. What happened was that Richie stared at the Kaspbrak’s front door, his foot bouncing as it stayed closed. He checked the time: 4:21. Richie said he’d be there at 4:15, and he had been. Eddie sometimes ran a little late, but it was never usually this bad if he was home – even if he _was_ still getting ready, he usually let Richie in and let him chill in the house. Richie looked around, suddenly conscious of all of Eddie’s neighbors who could see him standing on the porch, going on seven minutes now, looking like a loser.

He walked around back, trying not to let his shoulders slump. Maybe Eddie had just lost track of time? He climbed the tree outside Eddie’s window, his muscles memory taking over. However, when he got to the window, he was frustrated to find the curtains closed and the window locked. Eddie didn’t lock the window unless he was out of the house. Which meant he almost certainly wasn’t home.

Richie climbed back down the tree, practically falling to the ground as he moped. But it had only been ten minutes; he wasn’t ready to give up yet. He trudged back to the front porch and sat down, elbows on his knees and chin in his hands, and decided to wait, sure that Eddie would be there soon with an explanation. He shot him a text, just a simple, _wakey wakey sleeping beauty, don’t keep a guy waiting too long (;_ in case he really had just fallen asleep. But by the time five o’clock rolled around and Richie still hadn’t heard from Eddie he began to doubt that he was just asleep. Surely his incessant ringing of the doorbell around 4:47 would’ve woken him up. He was bored and his butt was sore, his heart in even worse condition, but he didn’t move from the porch. At around 5:30 he moved to his car and played some music, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he watched the front door to see if it would open. He decided that running the car for that long was bad for the environment around 5:45. He sat with his hand on the gear shift, almost ready to shift it from park into reverse and just go home, his heart heavy and blood boiling. But it was _Eddie_. Sure, he could be a bit cutting, and he liked to play jokes, but he wasn’t cruel. He was the sweetest person Richie had ever met.

Richie sighed, turning the car off and shuffling back to the porch. He plopped down and pulled out his phone, scrolling mindlessly through posts he had seen twice already.  His mind ran a mile a minute; why wasn’t he here? Did he forget? Had he thought Richie had been joking? Had he been joking when he said yes? Richie was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely noticed when a pair of slightly scuffed white sneakers appeared in his line of vision. His breath caught and his head snapped up, his stomach dropping into his stomach as he took in the bruise around Eddie’s eye and the cut on his cheek. “Holy shit, _Eds_ ,” he breathed, standing as quickly as he could and gently cupping Eddie’s cheeks. “Are you okay? What the fuck happened?”

“You stayed,” Eddie said, his eyes wide and flitting between Richie’s.

“What?” Richie asked, too caught up in his worrying to really process what Eddie had said.

“You stayed,” he repeated. “I’m almost two hours late and you stayed.” Richie blinked at that, blush creeping onto his cheeks.

“’Course I stayed,” he grinned shyly. Then, more sternly he asked, “Jesus, Eddie why didn’t you text me?” In response, Eddie pulled his phone from his pocket, and Richie saw that the screen was completely shattered. There was no way anyone could touch the screen without getting glass embedded in their skin. “Shit,” Richie muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie whispered, and Richie was alarmed and heartbroken to find Eddie cowering in on himself. “I went downtown to go to the florist, but I ran into Bowers and those idiots before I could even get there.” Richie’s jaw clenched. “I got away quickly enough, but I had to hide in the park, and I knew they were looking for me, so I stayed there for a while… It’s my fault, I called them all some pretty horrible things. Not that they didn’t deserve it, but if I’d just kept my mouth shut maybe they wouldn’t have followed me, then I wouldn’t have been so late.”

“Fuck that,” Richie spat venomously. “You say whatever the fuck you want, especially to them, just don’t say that this was your fault.” He realized he was gripping Eddie’s shoulders probably a bit too tightly and loosened his grip, taking a deep breath. “Where are they?” he asked, his voice calmer now, though he was still seething. “Maybe we have time to run them over before dinner.” Eddie snorted at that.

“Maybe we could just hang out for right now?” he suggested with a small smile.

“Without your mother home?” Richie gasped. “Edwin, that is _scandalous_.”

“I wanna clean my cut, asshole,” Eddie said, shoving Richie off of him and heading inside. He paused, looking down at the flowers that sat abandoned on the steps. “Are those for me?” he asked, a smirk growing on his lips. Richie quickly picked them up, thrusting them at Eddie with a lopsided grin.

“They sure are.”

Eddie laughed as he took them. “I was gonna get you the same kind.”

“Well, I suppose we can share these,” Richie said.

“Uh uh,” Eddie shook his head as he unlocked the door, leading Richie inside. “These are mine. Get your own.”

“Selfish,” Richie joked as he toed off his shoes. He watched adoringly as Eddie put the flowers in water and followed him up to his room, where he placed them on his desk.

“I’m gonna go clean this cut, I’ll be right back.”

“Spaghetti, you’re a fool if you think I’m letting you out of my sight,” Richie winked, following him to the bathroom. Eddie rolled his eyes, but he let Richie follow him. Richie sat on the toilet, admiring the skilled way in which Eddie retrieved the first aid kit, applying rubbing alcohol to a cotton round and swiping it gently across his cheek. Richie reached out and ran the backs of his fingers along Eddie’s thigh when he hissed at the sting. Once he was done, he put the kit away, but remained in front of the mirror. Eddie sighed. “What’s wrong?” Richie asked, standing up from the toilet.

“I can’t go out like this,” Eddie said miserably. Richie slid behind him so that he could see both of their faces in the mirror. Eddie had a point; he wouldn’t exactly be a welcome sight at the restaurant or the roller rink. “I’m so sorry, Rich,” Eddie pouted. “I know you had a whole night planned-”

“Shh,” Richie cut him off, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s waist. His heart stopped for a moment when Eddie stiffened, but soon he relaxed into the embrace, wrapping his own arms around Richie’s. Richie pressed a delicate kiss into Eddie’s hair, making the latter sigh and tilt his head back, resting it against Richie’s shoulder. “We’ll have other date nights,” Richie assured him, nosing along Eddie’s jaw. “I promise to take you out as soon as you’re feeling better.” Richie hesitated for a moment before pressing his lips lightly to the soft skin of Eddie’s cheek. The latter blushed, turning his head and nuzzling into Richie’s neck. Richie’s heart melted; sure, this wasn’t the roller rink, but it was everything he’d ever wanted – to kiss Eddie, to hold him, take care of him. “For tonight, let’s just order in and watch some movies, okay?” Eddie nodded, turning in Richie’s arms to envelop him in a hug.

“Thanks, Richie,” Eddie said, his words muffled against Richie’s chest.

“For what?”

Eddie lifted his head then, looking into Richie’s eyes as he said, “For staying.” The room suddenly felt more serious, but Richie – usually completely averse to anything heavy – felt amazing, his chest swelling and heart pounding pleasantly in his chest.

“I wouldn’t leave you,” he said, almost surprised by the sincerity in his voice. Eddie smiled gratefully up at him. Richie cupped Eddie’s face again, holding it as gently as he could as he leaned down, slowly enough that Eddie could pull away. But he didn’t. He tilted his chin up, meeting Richie’s lips in a soft, tender kiss. Richie could feel Eddie smile into the kiss right before he pulled away. They blinked slowly at each other, Richie’s mind swimming.

“I could really go for some pizza right now,” Eddie said suddenly, making Richie laugh in surprise.

“Ask and you shall receive,” he winked, pulling out his phone to place the order. Eddie led him back downstairs to wait for their dinner, where, as usual, they argued over what to watch. Only this time with a lot more cuddling, the debate quickly forgotten in favor of peppering each other’s faces with kisses.


End file.
